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David Bowie's Hobby Journey
1947–2016
Rock icon, cultural shapeshifter, musician, actor, fashion pioneerHobby Timeline
Childhood
Saxophone (received at age 12)Jazz (Charles Mingus)Music with his brother
Teens / Young Adult
Art schoolMime (trained under Lindsay Kemp — his primary income when music flopped)
Career
Painting (neo-expressionist, post-modern)Writing art criticism for Modern Painters magazineArt collecting
Later Life
Reading (published 100 favorite books list)Traveling by ocean liner (afraid of flying)Contemporary music discovery
Surprising hobbies
- ✦Was a professional mime artist before becoming a rock star
- ✦Wrote art criticism for a serious art publication (Modern Painters)
- ✦Afraid of flying — crossed the Atlantic on ocean liners
- ✦His art collection sold for £32.9 million at auction after his death
How hobbies shaped their career
Mime training gave him the theatrical physicality that defined his stage performances — Ziggy Stardust and all his personas. Painting was his creative problem-solving tool: 'If I had some creative obstacle in the music, I would often revert to drawing it out or painting it out.' Jazz saxophone at age 12 gave him the musical foundation for his genre-spanning career.
“Painting was about problem solving. I'd find that if I had some creative obstacle in the music that I was working on, I would often revert to drawing it out or painting it out.”
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